The Story of a Neighborhood     

It’s a South Memphis neighborhood with a long history. The Alcy Ball district extends from Elvis Presley to Airways Blvd. and houses over 4,600 residents. Many of the homes are small, brick bungalows from the 1950s and 60s when the neighborhood was known as a primarily middle class, African American community. But over the years, houses experienced blight, local businesses suffered, and Alcy Ball lost a great percentage of her home owners. The neighborhood fell into disrepair. In fact, despite the strong history of home ownership and community pride, residents saw the rates of poverty and blight grow to unacceptable levels.

New Life for a Historical Community

It’s not that most of the residents of Alcy Ball weren’t committed to the area. In fact, many of the residents have lived there for decades and have seen the troubles of the neighborhood up close and personal. But the statistics were still harsh. Since 2000, the neighborhood has lost over 15% of their residents. Homeownership has decreased by 29% since then and many of the residents live below the poverty line. The few businesses that kept the neighborhood thriving thirty years ago were sold off and met with financial challenges under new ownership. Circumstances made Historic Alcy Ball a shell of what it had once been.

In 2012, though, Memphis had just begun to experience a city-wide renaissance. City Leadership had just launched Choose901 two years prior and a new pride started to creep over the city. Locals became interested in the barren areas of our city, reexamining districts that had been cast aside for years and seeing opportunity where no one had dared to dream before. The neighborhood had felt forgotten but there was a stirring about restoration and in Alcy Ball, there was plenty to be done.

The Alcy Ball Development Corporation (ABDC) was founded by a local church and its team began to seek out the renewal of the neighborhood. By creating legal ties that would help residents fight widespread blight, engaging over 700 volunteers to help with neighborhood clean up projects, and making financial investments back into the wellbeing of the neighborhood, the ABDC helped provide the support the residents needed to reclaim what they loved about their neighborhood to begin with…the relational community. 

A Place to Gather in the Neighborhood

Since 1947, a small cinderblock storefront in the heart of Alcy Ball had been a communal attraction, but when Mr. Rogers began operating a convenient store complete with cold cuts and burgers in the early 1970s, the neighborhood found a real place to fellowship. Neighborhood kids stopped by for snacks after school and folks had a convenient store steps away from their front door to frequent and support. Things changed in the early 2000s when new tenants took over the store and the collapse of “Rogers Store” seemed to echo the demise of the neighborhood. The ABDC purchased the store directly from Mr. Rogers in 2019 and has given it back to the community as a beautifully rehabbed event facility, available exclusively to Alcy Ball residents at deeply discounted rental rates. The hall now hosts weekly Bible studies, bi-weekly Coffee & Craft events, and is open for meetings, parties, reunions, and more. Neighbors can find their place here. And together, they are making Alcy Ball what is once was and reimagining what it can be in the future.

Memphians love a good comeback story. And that’s what you can feel in the Alcy Ball neighborhood. It’s happening. The neighbors who make it a thriving community are still there, and organizations like ABDC are coming alongside them to ensure that the future of the neighborhood is just as bright as it’s past. To get involved or support the ABDC, check out their website.